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–Chad Love
Thursday is the traditional kick-off to many fall hunting seasons, from dove to grouse to…pork choppers? Yes, pork choppers. And according to this story, hunters from across the nation are lining up to be a part of Texas’ first helicopte… More »

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A Louisiana paper mill admits discharge caused massive Pearl River fish kill “The company said it believes that an “exceedence” of discharge above the level for which it is permitted depleted the river’s dissolved oxygen levels, leading to the kill that began on Saturday…”

Note that one repeat commenter on this story still claims that the fish kill is due to “summertime heat” even after the mill has claimed responsibility.

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Proving that it can certainly be re-activated in legal matters, ALS Enterprises—maker of Scent Lok clothing—is celebrating a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals last week. That decision overturned a summary judgement ruling issued last year that found Scent Lok guilty of false advertising when it claimed its clothing “eliminated” human odor. We covered this issue in this space last year and in my “Whitetails” column titled “Something Stinks at Scent Lok” in the magazine.

The judge presiding over the appeal ruled that ALS’s use of the terms “odor eliminating” and “reactivation” was not literally false. According to a press release issued by ALS, the judge ruled that “the district court had erred in ‘basing its determination of literal falsity on the most absolute of competing dictionary definitions of the word eliminate.’” Interestingly, the appellate court also gave substantial weight to the fact that ALS “introduced evidence of substantial customer satisfaction with ALS’s Scent Lok ™ products.” The court also ordered the dismissal of all claims for injunctive relief, stating “Plaintiffs failed to prove both the requisite irreparable injury and their core allegations that Defendants’ use of the terms ‘odor eliminating and reactivation’ were literally false.’”

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If, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, then this heartbreaking photograph of Petty Officer 1st Class Jon Tumilson’s black lab, “Hawkeye” refusing to leave his master’s side during Tumilson’s funeral earlier this week speaks volumes…

Navy SEAL, Jon Tumilson, lay in a coffin draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind. Tumilson’s Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, was photographed lying by Tumilson’s casket in a heart-wrenching image taken at the funeral service in Tumilson’s hometown of Rockford, Iowa, earlier this week. Hawkeye walked up to the casket at the beginning of the service and then dropped down with a heaving sigh as about 1,500 mourners witnessed a dog accompanying his master until the end, reported CBS.

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Huge stripers are in the news again…just a short while after a Connecticut angler boated the pending all-tackle world-record striped bass a first-time Missouri angler has bested the Missouri state record with a massive 60 lb. fish

From this story from the Missouri Department of Conservation:“You’re not going to believe this until you try it.” According to Bruce Cunningham, that is what his brothers said when trying to persuade him to go fishing with them in June. Brad and Brock Cunningham had discovered the excitement of catching striped bass at Bull Shoals Lake, and they wanted to share it with their older brother.

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Reading the comments to our Best of the Best tests on the website, I noted that people were pissing and whining that some of what we tested cost way too much for those who can barely afford a Happy Meal, and that I did not shoot enough to draw accurate conclusions about whether rifles shot well or not.

My fellow Americans: If you can’t afford expensive stuff, tough. This is the land of opportunity. Go out and manage a hedge fund instead of what you’re doing. We test what comes in, regardless of price. As for not shooting enough, one of the things I’ve learned over decades of testing rifles is that the good ones shoot well from the get-go and the bad ones disgrace themselves immediately.

One good group is not enough to tell you anything for sure. I’ve shot many factory rifles that came with a single sensational test-target group which I could never duplicate. If you get two good, or bad, groups it can still be coincidence. But with three, there’s very little doubt. You can go on and shoot two more groups, or ten more, and you’re going to keep getting the same thing.

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–Chad Love
A Louisiana paper mill is facing penalties and fines because polluted water from the plant killed thousands of fish in a local river.
From this story on nola.com:
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality late Monday put a Bogalus… More »

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–Chad Love
This video of a Texas man and his nine-year-old son catching a seven-foot shark from a kayak has the Internet buzzing.
From this story on abcnews.com:For Kevin Stevens and his 9-year-old son Hunter, last Saturday started off as a regular … More »

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–Chad Love
Early one chilly fall morning some 16 years ago, on the scout day for a weekend bonus deer archery hunt I had been drawn out on, I was stumbling my way along a game trail in far eastern Oklahoma when I stepped over–literally stepped ove… More »

About Racks & Reels

News and information on hunting, archery and fishing in South and Central Texas. Boating, lake level and river level information provided for Braunig Lake, Lake Calaveras, Canyon Lake, Medina Lake and others. Whitetail deer and turkey season information and tips.